NPC chairman tells CY Leung Hong Kong must 'strictly follow' basic law in electoral reform
Chief executive and senior officials summoned to Shenzhen for unscheduled meeting, where they are told to strictly follow the Basic Law
A top Beijing official told Hong Kong officials they must "strictly follow" the Basic Law in working out their electoral reform proposal when he unexpectedly summoned them for talks in Shenzhen yesterday.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying revealed he and three senior colleagues had met Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress, four days after Leung submitted a report on reform to the NPC.
It is the first time the chairman of the nation's top legislature has travelled to Shenzhen to give instructions on political reform to Hong Kong leaders.
One political commentator interpreted the surprise meeting as a "courtesy" before Beijing firmly rules out letting the public nominate candidates when the city picks its leader by universal suffrage in 2017.
Others said it showed that Beijing wanted to guide the reforms.
The meeting came on the day that Beijing loyalists launched a campaign to gather signatures against Occupy Central, the movement that plans to blockade streets if a plan for "genuine" democracy is not forthcoming. Organisers said they collected 200,000 signatures yesterday.
